Conspiracy
by andree campbell
Summary: Shandy! When Andy and Sharon are trapped together, we learn the team headed by Provenza, aren't in any hurry to help them get out. A useless maintenance man and a fluctuating air system conspire to bring these two out of their shells (ahem) purely out of necessity. Of course. [Flynn, Raydor]


_**What happens when a "broken" lock - and people - conspire against Andy and Sharon to force these two to deal with the unspoken chemistry between them. Not sure if this should be a completed story or continue. Will let readers' reviews decide for me. Thanks for reading.**_

* * *

**Conspiracy.**

"Open the _damn _door!" Andy Flynn yelled harshly through the crack of the door jam.

"We're trying!" Provenza yelled back with equal venom. Flynn could hardly hear him through the thick, reinforced metal door.

"Can you _pop _the hinges?" Tao yelled from the outside hallway.

"With what?" Andy yelled sarcastically. "There's nothing in here but paper and files!"

Julio Sanchez was trying to hide his grin from the other detectives standing beside him in the long hallway. Lieutenant Provenza was now leaning calmly against the wall alongside the door, his hands gesturing to the team to make it sound good. Authentic.

Tao's smile shrunk at Andy's exasperation while Sykes shook her head at the rest of them.

"The Captain better not find out about this," Sanchez said quietly to Sykes. The look on his face was serious. "Don't you ever tell her, either."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Sykes whispered loudly. "She'd fire every single one of us for this."

"Exactly," Sanchez said with a short nod.

Captain Raydor's cellphone vibrated against her hip. The text from Provenza read _Maintenance is on the way. Sit tight_.

Sharon tapped Andy's arm and showed him the message. "Looks like we're stuck here for a little while," Sharon sighed. Andy smacked the metal door with the butt of his hand. The thud was barely heard on the other side.

"I'm really sorry about this," Andy said mournfully to his boss.

"It's not your fault, Andy," Sharon said as she responded to Provenza's text. _Pls send for Security too._

Andy was rubbing the back of his neck and watching Sharon's expression. He knew she was irritated. Who wouldn't be at being locked in a hot, stuffy, small room filled with boxes of case files?

"Yeah, but_ I_ got you into this mess," Andy said after reading her screen.

"At least we can review the files while we're stuck here," Sharon said. "How did you find out about this …this place?" Sharon leaned against the stack of white banker boxes next to packed shelves of even more white boxes.

"Well…I uh heard about it from one of the Records' staff. She and I went out a few times but that was at least … two years ago." Andy said as he mirrored the captain and leaned against the shelves.

Sharon said nothing and let her eyes wander over the rows of boxes.

"Some of these cases are pretty old," Sharon observed as she read the dated labels on the boxes.

"Yeah, Lisa - that's the name of the sergeant in Records who I went out with a few times - she told me this room is the holding place or "purgatory" for case file updates. Whenever new evidence comes in on open cases, it has to be photographed or scanned and then added electronically to the e-files. Then the actual items go into boxes here and wait for pick up to go back to the evidence warehouse. This place…," Andy gestured to the small, over-packed room, "...is where the boxes are temporarily stored until Archives comes to get them."

"Good to know, Andy." Sharon nodded. "Is it warm in here?"

"Yeah, it is," Andy said as he removed his suit coat. With two people inside the small space, the room was headed toward stifling. "What the hell is taking so long?" Andy remarked more to himself than to Sharon.

Pulling his cellphone out of his pants pocket, Andy dialed Provenza and snapped at his partner upon answering. "Where the_ hell _is Maintenance?"

"Andy, relax. I'm doing everything I can," Provenza covertly put Andy on speaker to the rest of the team all standing in the hallway outside the locked storage room. Provenza was smiling to himself as he spoke. "I'm sending the team back to our offices. Nobody's getting anything done standing in the hall listening to you bitch about your situation."

"Do you believe this guy?" Andy said tersely to Sharon. She stepped forward and took Andy's cellphone and addressed Provenza directly.

"Lieutenant Provenza, we appreciate your assistance but it's been at least an hour. Would you please go and locate someone in Maintenance and _personally_ walk them back here?"

"Of course, Captain," Provenza said firmly. "How is your battery power, both of you?"

Andy checked his cell, "I'm running low, about 20% left."

Sharon frowned as she glanced at her own phone. "About the same, I'm afraid."

"Probably should turn off your phones for now until I get back. Make yourselves comfortable in there, and Andy, keep your hands off the Captain. Got it?" Provenza warned as he rolled his eyes.

"She can hear you, Louie," Andy snarked as he felt his face redden. "Just hurry up. It's pretty warm in here." Provenza's eyes widened and Tao stifled a laugh.

"Doing all I can, Andy. Just sit tight. Oh, did you find the case files?"

"Yeah."

"Well, _start_ reading them. Call me if you find out anything new. I'm calling maintenance as soon as I hang up. They should have been here ages ago. I'll be back." Provenza shut off his phone and waved the team to leave. "I got this, folks. Everybody, back to work."

Sanchez and Tao headed off snickering but Sykes hung back. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Lieutenant?" Sykes was frowning down at the elderly detective.

"Come with me," Provenza said pulling her arm. She followed slowly. "We'll get those two out of there in a couple of hours, okay?"

"That seems too long to me," Sykes pouted. "And it's hot in there."

"Precisely, Sikes. Precisely. You know what else _is _going on too long? Flynn's ridiculous crush on the Captain!He's been trailing after the Captain like a love-sick puppy for the past two years. Those two have been dancing around _whatever_ it is between them and its time to give them a helpful little push. If this doesn't work, then nothing will."

"You just want to win the bet," Sykes said with a knowing smile.

"Well of course I do. There's over a thousand bucks in that will-they-or-won't-they kitty," Provenza said with a quick smile. "Now, where oh where is that maintenance office? I wonder. I better hurry, too," Provenza said as he took slow mini steps.

Sykes laughed as the pair stepped into the elevator together.

* * *

Andy hung up and looked at Sharon. "You okay?" You look …kinda pale."

"I'm fine," Sharon replied as she removed her blazer revealing her long-sleeved blouse tucked into a pencil skirt.

"I should of just done this alone and not dragged you into this," Andy muttered.

"Andy, I wanted to see this place for myself. I had no idea this place even existed until you mentioned it. It certainly explains why it takes so long to locate evidence from the warehouse. There must be 60 to 70 boxes in here," Sharon mused.

Andy sighed and moved over to the specific case box Provenza needed. He slid it away a few feet to make room to sit down next to it. Once he sat on the floor, he lifted the lid and stared at the contents. Four thin manila folders stared back. "Well, this won't take long."

"Why wasn't this information available sooner electronically?" Sharon asked as Andy began reading the first file.

Andy looked up. "My guess is it has something to do with file sizes, compressing them and zipping them or something then uploading them if I remember right. Lisa got all techy about that stuff."

"Oh." Sharon said lightly. _How long did he date this Lisa?_ Andy was studying the contents quietly. Sharon bent down and pulled the second file out and began reading it. Within twenty minutes all four files had been reviewed. "The only evidence here is the copy of a death certificate of the last witness left."

"Cause of death. Natural causes." Andy looked disappointed. "Is that what they call it when you die of old age?" Sharon smirked as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Andy noticed she was still standing in her high heels.

"I could move some of these boxes for you. Stack them for you to sit?" Andy offered.

"These aren't sturdy enough," Sharon said. "I'm fine."

"Here, sit down. We're gonna be here for a while, might as well get comfortable."

Sharon hesitated. There wasn't much room to move about. As if he read her mind, Andy stood up and set about moving some boxes, stacking a few and opening up the floor space. He pulled a lid off one box and placed it on the floor for her to sit on. "So you don't get dirty," Andy said sweetly.

Sharon smiled at his gesture. She kneeled and reached out a hand before sitting sideways on the cardboard lid despite her pencil skirt and high heels.

"How do you women do that?"

"Do what?"

"Move around like that …in those straight skirts and heels. You make it look easy," Andy said rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's not that difficult, really."

"If you say so," Andy smiled.

Sharon stretched her legs out in front of and kept her knees bent a little to stay off the cold floor. From where Andy was sitting on the floor opposite her, he could see just a little of the back of her legs inside the small gap under her skirt.

Sensing her exposure, Sharon suddenly tucked her skirt up from under her knees and her eyes as she rested her head against the shelves. Seconds later she removed her glasses without even opening her eyes. It was the perfect opportunity to study her and Andy took it.

He smiled to himself. Maybe this wasn't such a bad situation after all. Locked in a small space and all alone with his gorgeous boss, the lovely Sharon Raydor. Darth Raydor herself! Andy leaned his head against a box one shelf up and let his eyes wander down her body. He could just barely make out the lace pattern on the uppermost surface on the cups of her bra through the filmy silk blouse.

"Anybody in there?" A muffled voice suddenly shouted through the crack under the door. Sharon's green eyes popped open immediately. Without her glasses on she didn't notice Andy's gaze on her chest.

"We're in here!" Andy said quickly as he leaned over her ankles and banged on the door. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you." The voice belonged to the maintenance man.

"Can you open the door?" Sharon said loudly.

"How many of you are in there?" The voice asked.

"Two," Sharon replied before hearing the voice laughing.

"_Just_ two, huh?" the voice replied. Sharon glared at Andy. She didn't like how this looked and Andy knew it.

"Just open the goddamn door!" Andy yelped.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," the voice yelled back. "You the one who called?"

"What?" Andy said loudly.

"Not you, this guy!" said the voice.

"Andy, he's talking to me," Provenza yelled from the other side of the door. "How you two doing in there?"

"We're fine, Lieutenant," Sharon said coldly. She didn't appreciate what she detected was a playful tone in the elderly man's voice. The doorknob was rattling now and both Sharon and Andy watched it intensely.

"Doorknob's broken," the maintenance man muttered.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Andy said to himself. Sharon shook her head at him but her micro smile let him know she found his comment amusing.

"What's that?" The voice from the other side of the door sounded curt.

"We're aware," Sharon said loudly. "Can you get the door open?"

"Sorry, no. I gotta go get a couple of tools to cut it off," the maintenance man stated.

"You didn't _bring _them?" Andy sounded pissed.

"Well, no, I brought _the keys_ to unlock the door but it looks like somebody broke the lock. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back," said the disembodied voice.

"Funny guy," Andy said tersely. "Provenza, you still out there?"

"Of course I'm here," Provenza said loudly.

"Why the hell didn't he bring his tools?" Andy yelped impatiently.

"What am I, a mind reader? How the hell should I know? Obviously, he should have!" Provenza bellowed back. "Look, I'm gonna call you so pick up."

Andy answered on the first ring. "Can you get Maintenance to do something about the temperature while you're at it? It's really hot."

"I'll bet!" Provenza teased.

"Don't go there, Louie!"

"Ok, ok. I'll call on the air conditioning. While you two are trapped in there, did you bother to read the file or were you _too busy_ doing something else?"

"Knock it off, Lou. We read the files, just the death certificate of the last eyewitness

"Slide it to me under the door," Provenza said.

"Here," Andy said as the thin file slid under the door.

Provenza looked over it and immediately told Andy he'd be back then hung up before Andy could protest.

"Shit!" Andy muttered.

"What happened? Did he leave?" Sharon sounded incredulous.

"Apparently," Andy looked mad. Sharon sighed heavily and leaned back and closed her eyes. One hand went to her breastbone where she flapped her blouse away from her chest a few times to cool off. Andy couldn't take his eyes off her.

"You're hot." Andy said. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"A little. You?"

"Yeah. Me too." Andy unbuttoned his cuffs and began to roll is sleeves up. He was thankful this suit didn't come with a vest. Next, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar. It helped to cool him off a bit. Sharon noticed his tanned arms, a gold bracelet with something engraved on it hung from his right wrist.

By now Sharon's legs were stretched out straight on the floor, the cold floor now greatly appreciated. Neither said anything. After a few minutes, Andy kicked off his shoes.

"You can take off your shoes, Sharon. I won't tell anybody about your wonky feet."

Sharon jerked her head at his odd comment. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, your weird feet," Andy said with a grin.

"There's nothing _'wonky'_ about my feet," Sharon said with a frown.

"Oh yeah?" Andy raised his eyebrows at her daring her to prove it.

"Foot fetish, lieutenant?" Sharon teased back.

"Not yet... guess I haven't met the right feet yet," Andy chuckled. "Of course, you could just take off your shoes and prove it. About the wonky feet, I mean."

Sharon rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine. But I'm only doing this because I'm hot."

"You certainly are," Andy grinned at her. She looked down and shook her head slightly. He was flirting with her. "Want some help?" Without waiting for an answer, Andy reached and lifted her ankle before she could speak. "Here you go," Andy said as he slipped off one pump and then other.

"These look too expensive to just kick them off," Andy said to the startled expression on her face. Two large green eyes stared at him above a speechless mouth.

"Thank …you, Andy," Sharon said awkwardly. She instantly crossed her ankles and slid her feet a little away from him. Andy didn't notice as he set her two shoes neatly beside his hip.

She had to admit it. Removing her shoes did make her feel a little cooler.

"Hmmm." Andy murmured as he studied her feet. "Well, whattaya know. Ten toes. No hooves!"

"I told you, normal feet."

"Very normal but who knew Darth Raydor paints her toenails! Pink. Cute."

"Oh please!" Sharon tried to squash her smile. "What were you expecting? Can we please stop talking about my feet? You're making me self-conscious."

"How long do you think we've been stuck here?" Andy asked.

"About two hours?" Sharon sounded unsure.

Andy nodded and closed his eyes. Sharon enjoyed the chance to stare a little.

Andy was older than her by a few years, clearly taller by at least a good six or seven inches. She admired his full head of silver hair with a few dark stands sprinkled through out, always so neatly trimmed. His dark eyelashes were noticeable when his eyes were closed, a rare sight under those hooded eyelids. Sharon took notice of his broad shoulders neatly defined by dark suspenders. She smiled a little at the small tummy pouch protruding just barely above his belt buckle. His forearms were tanned and fuzzy.

She realized his clothes sort of matched hers again, something that drove his partner Provenza nuts. Her ivory blouse, his ivory shirt, her black skirt, his black tie with ivory emblems.

Andy's eyes opened and caught the angle of Sharon's gaze. She was looking at his chest. Sensing his attention, the moment his eyes met hers, Sharon's darted away. Andy smiled to himself.

Sharon shifted her weight and crossed her legs at the ankles. Her hands were fidgeting in her lap. Her filmy blouse was still tucked nicely into the waistband of her pencil skirt and her slim, shapely legs stretched out toward him. She reached up and gathered her hair into a light twist and pinned it against the edge of a shelf allowing her neck to cool off. _Of_ course she'd have a long, sensuous neck, Andy mused silently. He could just imagine what it would feel like kissing her soft skin.

"What?" Sharon asked.

"Huh?" Andy bartered for time.

"I thought you said something."

"No. Just thinking.

"I have a meeting this afternoon that I can't miss," Sharon murmured.

"You could call them and let them know."

"What? That I'm locked in a storage closet with a man?" Sharon said sarcastically. "That won't look bad at _all_."

The fact she referred to him by his gender instead of friends put a smile on Andy's face.

"Might as well take a nap," Sharon said with a hint of boredom.

"Like I could sleep, now."

"Too hot?" Sharon asked lightly. Her eyes now closed again.

"You could say that. I'm trapped in a small space with my extremely good-looking boss. No self-respecting man would ever sleep through this," Andy added with a flirty grin.

Sharon opened her eyes to shoot Andy a disbelieving expression before rolling her eyes at him. "Uhmmm," She managed to make a hum sound sarcastic as she closed them again.

"No, seriously," Andy said with a crooked grin. "I know at least a dozen guys in this building alone who'd kill to be in my place."

"Right, trapped with the Wicked Witch," Sharon mumbled, she was not taking the bait. A few strands of hair had fallen from her makeshift French twist. Sharon's head resting on shelf left her chin and nose angled upward, her throat, now nicely exposed.

Andy allowed his eyes to linger at the hollow between her collarbones. "Even so, it's still true." No response. He reached over and traced a finger up the sole of her foot causing her to jerk her foot away. "You think I'm lying? Whoa, ticklish, too!"

Sharon curled her legs closer and readjusted her skirt with a sigh. She'd been on the receiving end of this type of pseudo flirting in FID and was firmly immune to it. It had been an infrequent but standard tactic some cops employed to get out of trouble. It never worked. Not once.

"Would you call Lt. Provenza and find out what's causing the delay," Sharon asked. Andy grinned. He knew deflection when he saw it.

"Yeah, sure. Anything else?"

Sharon shook her head slightly. He could see a faint sheen on her forehead. The heat was getting to her, too. She still hadn't put her glasses back on. Andy rather preferred this rare look.

A sudden gust of air caused her eyes to flutter open. Andy was fanning her with a manila file folder.

"Better?" Andy asked as he continued fanning her.

"Yes, thank you but you don't need to do that," Sharon said softly. Andy slowed the fanning.

"The call, Andy? To Provenza?"

"Oh yeah," Andy set the file down and pulled out his phone. He could feel sweat trickling down his back between his shoulders. The phone rang several times but Provenza never picked up.

"He's not answering," Andy said as he set his phone down. "You want to call Provenza? He'll answer you," Andy remarked.

"Good point," Sharon said pushing herself up to sit a little straighter. She leaned slightly on one hip and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. The battery power was dangerously low.

She called but Provenza's phone went directly to his voicemail. "That's not good. My phone's nearly dead."

Andy noticed Sharon's blouse was sticking to her forearms.

"I know it hot in here so please don't take this the wrong way, Sharon, but uh, I could turn around if you want to maybe take off your pantyhose?" Andy's face looked a little pink. "Just pushing up my sleeves made a big difference."

Sharon's eyes grew large. She knew he meant well but there was no damn way she was removing any clothing. "Thank you, Andy. I'm fine."

Suddenly she felt self-conscious of their proximity and pulled a file out of the box to begin fanning herself. Andy smiled at her stubbornness. "You know, it's just me, your friend, Andy. You can get comfortable. I promise I won't tell anyone.

Sharon smiled at his kind words but shook her head. _Absolutely not! Taking any clothing off was out of the question. How would it look? And with Andy's reputation as a lady's man, she wouldn't risk it._

"Hey, did you feel that?" Andy sat up quickly. He raised his hand in the air and felt cool air blowing into the room from the two vents along the back wall.

"It feels wonderful!" Sharon grinned as she twisted to stand up. "Oh thank god for air conditioning!" In less than a few minutes the room had cooled to a comfortable temperature. Several minutes after that, the room was becoming downright chilly.

"What the hell?" Andy said as he unrolled his sleeves and buttoned the cuffs. One minute it's a sauna, the next we're in a freezer."

"It's not so bad," Sharon said as she slipped her blazer back on, her shoes and her glasses. She resisted the urge to shiver. Ten minutes later she had crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

"You look cold," Andy noted. "Come over here. Sit by me. These boxes are blocking the airflow. Sharon realized he had a point and moved over to sit between Andy and a short stack of boxes. It was a tight fit, which had the added benefit of feeling a little warmer.

"If we ever get out of this place, I'm diving in the first cup of hot coffee I find," Andy muttered. Sharon chuckled. "You're shivering."

"So are you," Sharon replied.

"You know we'd be a lot warmer if we …." Andy tilted his head to finish the sentence for him.

"True."

"I'm only doing this,…" Andy said as he raised his arm and draped it around her back pulling her closer to him. "…for your health and mine. Purely altruistic. Not an opportunistic situation _at all_." His tone was playful and they both knew better.

"Thank you, Andy." Sharon said gratefully as she huddled closer. It felt wonderfully warm and ... something else too, something exciting that she couldn't or wouldn't allow herself to label.

"See, I don't bite…" Andy smiled. "…hard. His attempt to ease the tension in the air wasn't helping with the double meanings. "Just keep your hands where I can see them!"

Sharon laughed. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Each taking in the closeness of the other.

Her perfume was heavenly, her hair soft against his cheek. She had stopped shivering and was relaxed against his side. Andy enjoyed this new closeness, breathing in her scent, the feel of her body next to his.

As Sharon snuggled against Andy, she enjoyed how his arms felt holding her tightly. She still couldn't make out what was engraved on his bracelet as his right hand gripped her upperarm. For now she was content to nestle against him and wait for the damn door to be fixed. She could smell his after-shave or was it cologne? Either way it was spicy and arresting. Just like him. She smiled to herself. He felt so solid, so nice. It had been a long time since she enjoyed a man's arm around her.

"Can you imagine the look on Provenza's face if he saw us right now," Andy said softly.

"He'd have a heart-attack on the spot," Sharon chuckled.

"I could get use to this, Sharon Raydor," Andy replied. "How about you?" Andy could immediately feel her tense up.

"Don't panic, Sharon," Andy said squeezing her a little. "For now, just pretend you're not my boss. Then answer."

Sharon felt fearful. She knew what he wanted to hear. What she _wanted _ to say. But this little adventure would end the moment the door opened and anything she said now would affect their working relationship no matter what. She resisted.

"The fact you're not saying anything at all tells me what I need to know." Andy actually sounded a little smug. Sharon frowned against his chest.

"Really? You can read minds?" Sharon murmured. "If you can, I may be in trouble."

"Is that right?" Andy relaxed his hold and looked her in the eye. He looked surprised. "I'm getting a message…yeah, it's coming in very clear as I look at you. It's something about…wait, …yes. It's telling me I should kiss you."

Sharon smiled. "Are you sure you're reading _my _mind or yo…"

Before she could finish, Andy was kissing her softly. His lips slightly parted, his tongue lightly traced against her bottom lip. Sharon started to pull back out of instinct but Andy held her firmly. The gentleness surprised them both.

Sharon opened her eyes after and saw Andy smiling at her.

"I have been dreaming about this for a very long time, Sharon."

"You have?"

"You have no idea," Andy said before kissing her again. Emboldened, Sharon reached for his shoulder, slid her hand along it until she cupped his neck. He smiled against her lips.

"What are we doing?" Sharon murmured against his lips.

"We're taking things to the next level, honey," Andy answered as he felt her tongue lightly slide along his lower lip.

"So we're more than friends?"

"God, I hope so," Andy answered.

Provenza quietly grinned to himself as he struggled to get up from the floor leaving the small glass he had used laying on the floor. He had heard enough to know the little push had worked. _Finally!_ He thought to himself. _Mission accomplished. _Provenza bent over and quickly slid a file under the door before racing to the stairway.

The file slid against Andy's leg drawing their attention and immediately they scrambled for it. Andy reached for the file. It wasn't the same one he'd given Provenza earlier. This one was a different color. He opened it.

Inside the file lay a single piece of paper with a printed message that read "Fate." It was signed _Cupid. _A key was taped to the page.

Andy looked at Sharon with a puzzled look. She looked as confused as he did.

"Who's out there?" They shouted in unison. There was no response.

"What the hell?" Andy asked aloud. Sharon stared at the page and looked up at Andy with a slight smile toying at the corners of her mouth. She pulled the key off the page and tried it in the keyhole. It fit. They both scrambled to their feet and Sharon turned the doorknob. It opened!

Sharon immediately pulled the door back and looked up and down the hallway which was empty.

"Who was it?" Sharon asked.

"Whoever it was …." Andy said before pulling her back into the chilly storage room, "I owe him one." Andy grabbed Sharon and pulled her in tight for another kiss.

"The door!" Sharon managed to yelp before his lips pressed hers. They kissed for several seconds before Andy giggled.

"Yes?" Sharon asked with a smile.

"I'm keeping the key," Andy teased. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she smiled.

"Excellent idea."

"You in a hurry?"

Sharon checked her watch and realized she could make her meeting with Assistant Deputy Chief Taylor. It started in 2 minutes. "Meet you here in an hour?"

Andy grinned. "It's a deal."

"Good, you know how I love a good deal," Sharon said as she leaned in and kissed him gently. Andy tightened his grip on her waist before grudgingly letting her go.

* * *

_**Well, dear Reader, should I continue this? Will they find out who exactly is Cupid? We know of course. So how will the team react to watching these two later that day? Especially Provenza who's the only one who knows for certain what actually transpired in the storage room. If he takes the money, then they all know the conspiracy worked. If he doesn't take it, why?. Let me know your thoughts. I'll update or revise the status to 'completed.' Your thoughts?**_


End file.
